Violin Pickup Carpenter Jack with Micro-Gooseneck by Myers Pickups

Some background- I used to play my viola in a touring rock band, and I used an early model Fishman piezo pick-up (tinny - I hear they've improved though) and later The Band (muddy). They did the job for loud situations where I had to compete with drums, bass, guitar, keys, vocals.Now older and starting a casual jazz duo, I'm the lead instrument, much more exposed. I still needed some amplification, and I wanted to get something that would give a "truer" sound than The Band. My research led me to compare Audio-Technica and the very pricey DPA condenser mics. But then I stumbled upon a review of a woman comparing her violin sound between an AudioTechnica (retails around $400) and this Myers mic I'd never heard of (retails at $200). There was little discernible sound difference, so I started looked into Myers more. I found that of the three brands, it was the one that would work best with the equipment I already owned from my rock gig days - a nice L.R. Baggs DI box, quarter inch cables, amp. The other ones would have involved buying (and getting adjusted to) all new supportive gear, upping their overall price even more. So I took a chance on this $200 microphone which fits in with the gear I already have.I received it, attached it to my viola - easy - and tried it out with my DI box, playing with the EQ settings. Everything worked right out of the box. And it didn't create a "dry" sound - it sounded like it had just a hair of reverb on it, which is ideal for me. There weren't excessive bow scratch noises as used to happen with my Fishman pick-up, and I didn't notice the microphone picking up any of my breathing. My duo partner and I went to our first gig in a hotel lobby, I again plugged into my Baggs DI box and from there to a bass amp (they recommend keyboard amps, but a bass amp is what I have and it's fine after some EQing). Once again everything worked fine, the sound was great, and there was no feedback (I was sitting behind my amp - any volume adjustment could be done from my DI box or the microphone itself). I would almost go as far as to say that the microphone makes my instrument sound a little better (again, maybe it's the hair of reverb that seems to be built into it).By the way, you can use this thing without a DI box or pre-amp, because it has a pre-amp built into it. But it helps to have one, if you can get one. I like my L.R. Baggs because it has a mute button and a boost button/pedal you can stop on,, it has a built in tuner, it has EQ knobs to adjust your low end, mid-range, high end, and more. I think the Myers would have worked fine without my DI box, but the box allowed me to get the sound balance exactly where I wanted it (and also to easily mute when I set down my instrument or wanted to tune).The one thing I did have to adjust was to exaggerate dynamics more - my mezzopianos came across louder than they do when completely acoustic, so I had to use an even lighter touch to play quieter passages. From what I've read, that's the case with any microphone.The other thing to keep in mind is that it's a multi-directional microphone (picks up sound both in front and behind it) instead of cardioid (a type of mic that picks up sound only in front - both the ATM and DPA models are cardioid). This was not an issue at all in performing with my duo partner. Might it be an issue if you're playing with multiple loud instruments in close proximity? Some say yes, some say no...I can't really speculate, but it's a factor to consider. However, for playing by yourself or with few other instruments, I would say this works really great.Ultimately, if I play enough duo gigs to justify it, I may invest in a really top of the line wireless system (with all of the new equipment that would entail, it will be over $1000). But until gig money builds up to that point, and maybe beyond, I'm more than happy with this little $200 mic.And good news on my first jazz duo gig - we were invited back for multiple future dates. Sure, I had prepared a lot, but I'd like to think that the good sound I got out of this mic, and the trouble-free way I was able to start using it right off the bat, helped a lot.

I was looking around for a nice mic for my daughter's violine. She wanted to start playing church, but she could not hear herself. so, after reading much reviews. this seems to be a good fit and small enough. The price was a bit on the high side and I did not have it long enough to say it was worth it. But, so far it is ok. We hooked it to a speaker and it is working fine. It is not loud as we want it, but it will do. I know in one of the review some one said it broke, I hope that will not happen to us.

I'm absolutely delighted with this pickup/microphone! It produces a much more natural sound than bridge-installed piezo units. Installation with the carpenter jack is quick and easy. The flexible gooseneck allows the mic to be pointed in different directions. I made my first recordings last night with it installed in the "traditional" way (as pictured on the Myers site) with the jack on the fiddle's left side and the mic pointed toward the bridge). The results were outstanding. I'm going to experiment with it pointed differently, and installed in different locations. I'll also be playing at some live shows in the future, and will get a better idea of how resistant it is to feedback.I'm really pleased with this, and recommend it!

I could not plug this directly into a mixer using the XLR so the sound output was really week. I go through a digital delay with 1/4 plug and the output of this pickup was so weak it was unusable

Pre Amp does not provide enough gain, I still Need to insert a separate pre Amp before going to guitar Amp speakers.

I use this product for my violin and was really impressed with the sound quality. There's a lot of adjustability in these units, so you can pinpoint the sweet spot for mounting without too much experimenting. I prefer using these pickups with a harp (chinrest holder) because it allows the pickup to be easily removed when not being used.I have not seen (or heard) anything in the realm of transducer pickups which approaches the quality of Myers pickups. I am extremely pleased to have found them.

At first I thought it wouldn't have enough volume, but after I set it up correctly and adjusted my amp settings, it works great! I wouldn't expect this to work at high volumes, but for normal volume it is very good.

Did well. Has some issues wit being able to set the gain on the unit to match my mixer. Would note, use a 90deg 1/4"TS connector. straight got in the way of the player.